About Us
Founded in 1944, the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science develops philanthropic support for the Weizmann Institute in Israel, and advances its mission of science for the benefit of humanity.
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—July 19, 2021—Until recently, before NASA’s Juno space probe entered its orbit around the planet Jupiter, no one knew that powerful cyclones approximately the size of Australia rage across its polar regions. Jupiter’s storms, as opposed to the earthly variety, do not disperse and rarely change. In an article published in Nature Geoscience, researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science reveal the mysteries of Jupiter’s cyclones: which forces affix these gargantuan storms to their polar locations and why the storms’ numbers and locations remain more or less constant over time.
July 19, 2021
Haaretz reports on Prof. Elisabetta Boaretto’s finding that early humans and Neanderthals spent more time together than previously thought.
June 21, 2021
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—June 14, 2021—The Boker Tachtit archaeological excavation site in Israel’s central Negev desert holds clues to one of the most significant events in human history: the spread of modern humans, Homo sapiens, from Africa into Eurasia, and the subsequent demise of Neanderthal populations in the region. Researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Max Planck Society, led by Prof. Elisabetta Boaretto, together with Dr. Omry Barzilai of the Israel Antiquities Authority, returned to Boker Tachtit nearly 40 years after it was first excavated. Using advanced sampling and dating methods, they offer a new chronological framework for this important chapter in our anthropological evolution. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the study suggests that Homo sapiens and Neanderthals were far from strangers.
June 14, 2021
The New York Times covers recent revelations from NASA’s June probe, talking to mission scientists such as Prof. Yohai Kaspi.
June 14, 2021
In the latest episode of “Weizmann in Focus,” Dave Doneson invites us to gaze up at the stars and planets—and learn about the Institute’s efforts to uncover the mysteries of the cosmos. Dave highlights the ULTRASAT satellite mission, part of Weizmann’s flagship Frontiers of the Universe initiative, which will search for cosmic events such as supernovas and black holes. It will then alert astronomers around the world in real time to their occurrence. In partnership with NASA and others, Institute scientists plan to launch ULTRASAT into space in 2023.
April 21, 2021
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—February 25, 2021—Around 2.5 billion years ago, our planet experienced what was possibly the greatest change in its history: According to the geological record, molecular oxygen suddenly went from nonexistent to becoming freely available everywhere. Evidence for what is called the Great Oxygenation Event (GOE) is clearly visible – for example, in banded iron formations containing oxidized iron. The GOE is, of course, what allowed oxygen-using organisms – including, eventually, us – to evolve. But was it indeed a “great event” in the sense that the change was radical and sudden, or were organisms that were alive at the time already using free oxygen, just at lower levels?
February 25, 2021
This webinar introduces Weizmann’s flagship Frontiers of the Universe initiative. Frontiers of the Universe will advance the Institute’s pioneering efforts to understand the nature of space, time, and life itself—from the tiniest subatomic particles to the largest galaxies.
January 28, 2021
The centuries-old Santorini volcanic eruption has been extensively studied, but there is no agreement on when it happened. The Jerusalem Post reports that Prof. Elisabetta Boaretto has used novel methodologies to date a single olive branch and help reconcile theories.
January 13, 2021
In this special session, Prof. Avishay Gal-Yam, Weizmann’s supernova hunter, takes us to the Frontiers of the Universe: one of the Institute’s new flagship projects. From studying the tiniest subatomic particles to the far reaches of the galaxy, this initiative aims to put the Institute at the very forefront of advanced physics research – and even into space.
January 12, 2021
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